I'd Lie
by intoxicatingly.dazzled
Summary: Edward never came back. Bella never jumped. Jacob was able to heal Bella, and they are now engaged, seven years later. But what will happen when she falls down the stairs into a pair of very familiar arms? ON HIATUS!
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys. Hope you like it! Review review review!!**

_intoxicatingly.dazzled_

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**Bella Swan**

I remembered where my trusty blue umbrella was. Under my bed, in one of the many boxes that populated my new apartment from the move I'd just made a few days ago.

I stared in dismay at the pouring rain that had most definitely not been there a minute ago. Standing inside New york City's giant library, I had just said good bye to my fiancee, Jacob Black. Foolishly, I had also told him that I would not need a ride home.

I sighed. It was a good 30- minute walk from here to my new home, if I could even remember _where_ my new home was.

Gritting my teeth, I steeled myself and walked outside. Or rather, _tried_ to walk outside_._

Since my gracefulness left something to be desired, I, of course, fell headlong down the stairs and into a pair of arms. A pair of very familiar arms. I didn't want to look up. I didn't want all those memories to come flooding back. But of course they did anyway. And a finger on my chin forced me to look into those smoldering golden eyes that were so familiar, even though they now only appeared in dreams.

A velvet voice whispered, "Hello Bella."

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**I'm sure you can all guess who's arms they were. This was never meant to be more than one chapter, but that's how this story wants to be told, and hey! I'm not one to change it. **

**I'll post the next chapter up asap. Thanks to everyone who is planning on reviewing. **

_intoxicatingly.dazzled_


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi all- thanks for the reviews- here's the next chapter- hope you like it!**

_intoxicatingly.dazzled_

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I swallowed hard.

"Hello Edward."

"Still your graceful self, I see." he said, the corners of his mouth pulling up into the crooked smile I loved.

I began to feel dizzy and light headed. The aroma of his breath and just- all of him was way too much for me after being without him for so long.

"Bella?" his voice sounded faint, far in the distance.

_I will not faint_, I told myself sternly. _I am over him. Think of Jacob. Jacob, Jacob Jacob._ I sighed with relief. Jacob helped. More than he knew.

"Would you like a ride home?" he asked, politely as ever.

I hesitated. The offer of a ride was tempting, but from _Edward? _That could just be too awkward. Especially with the long 20 minute ride.

"Alice will be coming," he said, "I was just waiting for her, actually. I suppose this was what she was hiding from me today."

That did it. I couldn't wait to see Alice. I needed some perkiness. You just didn't get that much of it when you lived alone in an apartment in New York.

"OK." I sighed.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, it was still raining, and Alice still wasn't there. Just then, a phone rang, a song I recognized. Claire de Lune. It must have been Edward's phone, no one else would have that, except, of course, for me.

"Hello?" he pulled out his phone. "Hi, Alice. What? Alice... You're going to get it for this-"

He snapped the phone shut with an angry expression on his face.

"What?" I asked, my curiosity getting the better of me.

"Alice hung up on me," he sighed, then added, "I suppose she saw this, and that's why she can't pick me up."

"Ah," I said. Mentally, I told myself that if I ran into Alice, I would blow up at her, not that it would do much good.

"Well," he sighed, "I think I can get a rental for now. Would you like a ride home?"

"If it's still raining, then yes, please." It was the only compromise I could think of. I was lucky Jasper wasn't here, he would be able to sense how much I wanted to be with Edward again, have him kiss me goodnight-

_Stop._ I scolded myself, _You'll only make matters worse for yourself._

I was startled from my reverie by the sound of Edward snapping the phone shut for a second time. When he caught me looking at him, he explained, "I just called the rental company. A car should be here within thirty minutes."

We waited in silence, Edward looking like he wanted to talk to me, but I stopped him by pullin gout my copy of _Pride and Prejudice_, wanting to read about Elizabeth's troubles rather than face my own.

"Ahem." I looked up. Edward was holding open the door of a car for me, having paid the driver a considerable amount, enough so that he had walked off into the library or something.

Tears came to my eyes as I realized the car was a silver volvo, bringing back memories that I never wanted to think about again.

"Bella?"

"I think I'd rather walk." I said abruptly, turning away to wipe my eyes.

"But it's still raining out," he said, confused.

"Not as badly," I retorted, walking away.

"Bella." He caught my arm in his hand and twisted me around, forcing me to look into his smoldering eyes. And I knew nothing would help this time. Not this close to him. It was almost like he had never left, and I automatically stretched up toward him, as if to kiss his lips, but I caught myself before I touched my lips to his, standing awkwardly on my toes.

"Please? I don't want you to get wet." His eyes were being unfair now, his velvet voice more persuasive than before. A song came into my head, as we stood there, he holding the door open, and looking into my eyes simultaneously.

_Yeah,_

_I don't think that passenger seat,_

_Has ever looked this good to me,_

"Okay," I sighed, giving up to him, as usual. He smiled my favorite crooked smile, and then motioned for me to get in. he walked around to the driver's side, pulling out from under the cover of the archway of the library.

"So," he said conversationally, "What have you been doing lately? Since-"

Thoughts, memories came flooding back to me. Of that night, that night when-

"No-" I choked out, "Edward, don't."

"Bella, I'm sorry, I didn't realize-"

I snapped.

"No, Edward, of course you don't know. Wanna know why?"

He looked confused, which only made me madder. How could he think, believe that I had been alright after he left? He had shattered me, broken my heart a thousand times over.

"You left me! How can you stand there like that? You killed me, Edward! You didn't leave me behind, you left a ghost of what I was! I wasted a good several years of my life, waiting, thinking you would come back! I never went to Harvard, like a wanted, because I was WAITING FOR YOU TO COME BACK TO FORKS!!" My voice rose, shrilly at the end. "I'm done, okay? You managed to charm me into this because I was caught off-guard, but not anymore. I HOPE I NEVER SEE YOU AGAIN!!"

I jumped out. Thankfully, the car wasn't going very fast, and though I did fall, I managed to catch myself with my hand. I ran over to the sidewalk, water streaming down my face, half tears and half rain. I knew Edward could easily catch me if he wanted, but he just sat there, in the car.

I ran back into the library, hoping that it was still open.

I pushed open the door, bumping into someone as I did so.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" I looked up into the person's face, hoping they weren't mad. Their mouth had curved into a smile, thankfully for me. The nose was average, and I could see prominent cheekbones. The eyes made me gasp and take a step back, stumbling over a newspaper stand in the process.

They weren't green, or brown. Not blue or gray either. Not black, or red. I found myself staring into a pair of golden eyes.

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**Hope you like! Sorry about the cliffie, I couldn't resist. I'll update soon, after I get 15 more reviews!**

**Review, review, review!**

**Love to you all, **

_intoxicatingly.dazzled_


	3. Chapter 3

So after re-reading my story (pathetic, right?:) ), I listened to inspirational songs (i.e. I'd Lie by Taylor Swift), and decided to pick this story up again! It never was abandoned I just never really had time for it! So, without further ado, the next chapter!

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**Bella**

She had delicate skin, the color of a vamp-. _No, Bella, don't think about that, _I told myself sternly. Her strawberry blonde hair was curly, blowing in the wind around her face. Her beauty was surreal. Every man on the street, I noticed, was staring at her. She stood me up, and as her ice cold hands touched me, I knew without a doubt that this was a vampire.

"Hello?" Her voice was charming, like Alice's, but instead of the chiming bells that was Alice, her voice was husky and yet soft at the same time. "Are you alright?"

She spoke in the same formal tone as Ed-. _No, Bella, not that either._

"I'm fine." I said quickly as I looked around for Edward's car, but it was nowhere to be seen.

"Well, why don't you come over my house and warm up? You look like you could use a little cheering up."

"No thanks." I said shortly, and turned to start walking to my apartment. I wanted nothing to do with any supernatural creature since-

A cold hand on my arm startled me. "Really, come on," insisted the blonde, tugging at me. "I need some girl time." She tried to look warm and inviting but failed miserably.

"No!" I yanked my hand out of her grip. "I don't even know your name and I just want some rest! Go away and leave me alone, OK? I've had a really bad day and this isn't making it any better!"

"My name's Tanya." She smiled, showing teeth that were perfectly straight, although I knew that they could suck life out of people. "Now will you please come?"

"I said, LEAVE ME ALONE!" I turned and ran, tasting the salt in my tears as they streamed down my cheeks.

"Well, I'll see you around!" She smiled brightly. I had dropped my copy of _Pride and Prejudice_, but that wasn't something to worry about now.

People stared as I pushed and nearly fell several times. I finally reached my apartment and wrenched the door open, running smack into-

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**Edward**

"Bella?" She ran smack into me, soaking wet and quietly sobbing.

"Oh my God!" She exploded again. "I just wanted to get home and relax and ughhh! YOU have to come and ruin all this for me? How do you even know where I live? How did you get in? Isn't it enough that you ruined my career and social life? Why now, why today? Why here? I hate you!" Her voice cracked, and Bella, still sobbing, ran into her room and locked the door.

"Bella?" After a few minutes of wretched sobs, I knocked on her door.

"Go away," came the muffled reply, and the crying continued, to my alarm, louder.

"Well, if you won't come out and talk to me, then I'll just talk to you."

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**Bella**

I was crying hard already, but when he said my name, like that- I poured my heart out as my tears consumed me.

"Well, if you won't come out and talk to me, then I'll just talk to you."

I hugged my soaked pillow to my chest, and kept crying until I realized I had no tears left.

"Bella, I- I came to see you because you're in danger."

_What? _I walked into my bathroom and looked in my mirror and discovered to my horror that my eyes were unattractively red and puffy. _Whatever, this is Edward we're talking about. He doesn't think that my fragile human softness can survive anything._ I dabbed at my eyes with some cream and a tissue. Blinking a couple of times, I decided they looked slightly better, at least better than they did before.

With a sigh, I glanced in the mirror again and decided I didn't care what I looked like. _Edward and I are over, _I reminded myself sternly. _Over. Done. Nada._ I walked into my room, only slightly surprised when I saw him sitting on my bed.

"So, what's this big 'danger'?" I asked sarcastically, using air quotes and rolling my eyes to get the message across. And, because, who doesn't like making air quotes and rolling their eyes? Seriously.

"There's a new cult of vampires in New York. We investigated because they were in America and making trouble." He pulled out a pile of papers from his pocket. "Look."

I glanced down at the titles and did a double-take. "What?" Titles like, "Strange Markings found on Dead Toddlers: Cult Suspected" and "Death Toll Now 100" popped out at me. "How come I don't know about this?" I demanded.

He sighed. "The New York government and the White House agree that it's best to keep this quiet. They don't want the public to go into panic if they find out. They want to find the killer and then bring them to justice so they'll look great and citizens will do as they're told. Of course, Carlisle decided the matter was well-worth looking into. The FBI can only do so much." He smiled wryly. "We have, ah, certain advantages they don't."

"So why did you tell me?" I asked, exasperated. "They obviously can't be that much of a danger to me if I'm still here. See? Alive and kicking! Kicking you out, in fact!"

"Bella," he said, as I attempted to push him out the door unsuccessfully, "You have to come with me."

I stopped. "Why?" I demanded. "You leave me for seven years and suddenly you're worried again because of some stupid vampire cult? You know, Edward, for a guy whose lived a century, you aren't very smart when it comes to women. You see, it's the flowers and candy first, then the apology letters, then knocking on doors, and for some, possibly stalking and earning a restraining order. No part of 'Cryptic warning about vampire cult from nowhere after seven years' is anywhere in that list."

"Bella," He said. "You can kick me out all you want, but will you at least listen to someone else?"

I must have looked skeptical (I wonder why?) because he looked at me again, more urgently. "Please, Bella?"

"Who?"

"Just come on."

"Tell. Me. Who."

He sighed. Then swept me off my feet and whisked me to the door and set me down so fast that I didn't even register what he had done until I saw the person standing in front of me in the doorway.

"Bella!" Exclaimed Carlisle. "It's been awhile, how are you."

"Fine." I said, sighed and then said, "Come in."

"Oh, so you and Edward have been catching up, hmm? That's wonderful."

"If you want to put it that way, sure."

My thoughts were spinning. _Edward must have known that the only person I would really listen to and trust would be Carlisle. That's not fair! He's playing dirty and he knows it._

We sat down at my kitchen table. Carlisle wasted no time. "So, Edward has filled you in on everything?"

"Not quite." I said, glaring at the stone statue that had the face of an angel.

"Oh. Well then I won't beat around the bush, because this is quite serious. The cult of vampires has been known to mercilessly kill anything in their way. They worship the God Aries, for his warlike nature. Their sacrifices are nothing if not meaningless and those of foolish newborns. As newborns, you know that they are the strongest of all vampires for all the human blood still in their system. This makes them the most dangerous and is what keeps the Volturi from interceding. Last time this cult has risen, they had killed most of the Volturi, except for Aro, Marcus, and Caius, and their wives. The group formed a plan to use Aro's sister and Marcus' wife, Didyme as bait, for they knew that the blood of a vampire woman was needed for an important ritual coming up. She had the power of making everyone around her happy, so they hoped that she could use it when she was captured. When it came to kill the cult once and for all, they weren't able to save Didyme. It was left to be a battle between Aro and the leader of the cult, Rick; Caius and Marcus were too busy holding everyone else at bay. Aro and Rick faced off, and it came to down Rick having his knife at Didmye's throat. Aro's decision makes he, Caius, and Marcus what they are. Marcus had almost resolved to leave the Volturi, but Chelsea, a member of the guard, has the power to keep him loyal to the Volturi and stay, so he is. They managed to stop Rick, but they lost Didyme. Now I fear the cult has risen again and wants one thing only."

"What's that?" I asked.

"The new leader, Stephan, is a collector. He knows that you and Edward were once involved and you are resistant to his mind reading. He believes your power will be like none other. So, in short Bella, what he wants, is you. He wishes to turn you vampire and put you at his side as his mate."

I was speechless and flattered at the same time. _So it was all about me, huh? Well, I guess that's nice for a change…_

"Bella." Carlisle's voice had a tone of urgency. "If you want to live, you must come with us right away. He will stop at nothing until he gets his way, and right now, you are the priority, at least until the eclipse, when the next ritual is. We know nothing about him except for this: he is a collector, the next ritual is at the eclipse, he has allies and spies everywhere, vampires and human. The vampires are 'vegetarian' like ourselves and those who are unlike us. So do not fool yourself into thinking that those who have golden eyes are friends. But, most importantly, he wants you."

I deliberated. "Alright, I'll come with you. But I'll need to pack, so give me an hour or so."

For the next hour and a half because it took longer than I had expected, I packed, Edward and Carlisle helping. They took the furniture, mainly, and put it all into a huge limo's trunk. I took care of my clothes, dishes, and personal items.

I stood in my empty apartment and the truth hit me. I was leaving my home. My only sense of security was taken away, stripped from me by vampires. It wasn't the only time I had lost everything because of them.

I got into the limo quickly and quietly. I didn't offer any conversation to them and they didn't attempt to make any.

We pulled up in front of a mansion, what else. Nothing but the best for the Cullen's. I smiled to myself. At least I would get to see Emmett and Esme, I told myself.

We got out of the car, and Edward hurried me to the door. He stepped inside. "Come on, Bella," he said impatiently. I took a deep breath and stepped inside. As I saw the other Cullens approaching, my only thought was _Well, no one will bite me. Hopefully._ Laughing hysterically at my joke, I went forward to meet the challenge of a lifetime.

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**Tanya**

_Back in time…_

I smiled and picked up the book the girl had dropped in her quest to get away from me.

"Well, well, well." I muttered to myself. "Not too smart, are we?" I opened it and saw the name. "Bella Swan."

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**Hope you liked it! Thanks to all reviewers, especially those who have read my other stories as well. I promise I'll be getting back to HSR soon! Now the first five reviewers will be mentioned next times! Thanks to all of you. **

**Love always,**


	4. Chapter 4

I'm having some writers' block issues with HSR, so I'm just going to write this instead!

Note: I made a mistake in the last chapter. Ares name is spelled incorrectly. It should be "Ares" instead of "Aries." I apologize and hope that it didn't cause a lot of trouble.

Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns the characters, etc. No copyright infringement is intended.

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**Bella**

The first thing I saw as I walked into the enormous house was Alice, on the second level, descending down a stairway that must have gone up to the top floor of the house.

"Bella!" she cried, and gracefully leaped down the rest of the stairs to hug me in her stone cold arms. "I've missed you! I wanted to say good-bye myself, but Edward wouldn't let me. I saw you coming, you know. Oh, I have a girls' day out all planned! Shopping, movies… I can't wait; it'll be our gift to you!"

I smiled at Alice's chatter, and then remembered I was supposed to be mad at her for not picking up Edward and me. But it was hard to resist Alice's bubbly self, and I found myself realizing that I had missed her.

She wrapped her arm around me. "Come on, Bella, you haven't seen Jasper, Rose, Emmett, or Esme yet!"

Just then, Rosalie and Emmett appeared in a doorway on the third floor. I could see Rosalie's disgust, and shrank back. Rosalie had never liked me, although I had tried my best to make friends with her. Emmett, on the other hand, was another story entirely. He was like my big brother; he teased me mercilessly about everything from my pale skin to Edward "biting me."

His huge grin scared me somewhat, but not in the "danger!" way. Instead, I was terrified of what kinds of things he would say to irk me today.

"Hey, Bella," his voice boomed out, echoing. "How've you been? Has Eddie here bit you yet? Your skin is pale enough, although your eyes aren't bright red."

"No," I shot back. "Have you managed to actually pick up a book while I was gone?" I smiled satisfactorily as I saw his rather dumbstruck face.

Edward laughed, and I cringed to think of memories his laugh brought back.

_-Flashback-_

_Edward, curled up with me on my bed. I was asking him about what he ate._

"_Bella, we, the Cullens, only eat animals. I prefer mountain lion myself. Emmett enjoys grizzly bears. We all have our 'little preferences,'" he said jokingly. But I was too enamored with him to say anything in response. My attention was on his eyes._

He tells me about his night,

And I count the colors in his eyes.

"_Bella?" he said, waving a hand in front of my face._

I shook my head, trying to banish the emotion that had swept through my mind.

"-grown-up," Edward was saying.

"What?" I asked stupidly.

Alice whispered, "He was just saying to Emmett and Rose how much you've grown up. I mean, you were making a living for yourself, living in your apartment. I mean, you obviously got over Edward, ya know?"

"Jake!" I blurted out. "What will I do about Jake? I know he'll be looking for me, I was supposed to meet him an hour ago."

Alice's eyes clouded over for a few seconds. I noticed Edward was watching her vision intently as well.

"Edward!" she cried, and he went to go block the door I was about to dive out of.

"Oh, no, you don't," he said, prying my hand easily from the doorknob.

"No!" I said, firmly. "I need to get out of here and warn Jake! They probably know about him if they want me as much as you said they do. I have to warn him!"

"Emmett, Rose?" They nodded at Carlisle's voice, and jumped down to pull me away from the door.

"Bella, I think we need to talk about you," said Carlisle. "There seem to be some things that you haven't told us about yet."

I nodded mutely. I decided it was best to just go along with it; after all, the faster I got this over with, the faster I could go tell Jake.

"Why don't you come into the, well, we call it the dining room, anyway," he said with a grin. Rose and Emmett escorted me, none too gently into a room off to the side that I hadn't noticed before.

We all sat down, and I noticed that Jasper and Esme had slipped into the room as well.

"So, Bella, why are you so worried about this 'Jake?'" Carlisle asked. "Exactly how much does he mean to you?"

"Everything." The word dropped from my lips in a whisper. "We're engaged."

I half expected Edward to do something drastic. Thankfully, Alice restrained him with a quick touch of her hand.

"Ah." Carlisle frowned. "Unfortunately, the cult probably knows about him. We have to rescue him right away."

I smiled curled around my lips. "I don't think he'll need rescuing."

"Really?" Asked Emmett mockingly, "And what exactly makes you think that?"

Alice suddenly grinned, and I knew she knew about Jake.

"Carlisle," she broke in, "Why don't you ask Bella what her new last name will be?"

"Bella?" he turned expectantly.

"Black."

For the first time since meeting him, I realized that Carlisle was speechless. He knew what Jake was, I'm sure, but I also knew that he didn't realize how much power Jake had.

"He's alpha," I said conversationally, to break the silence. Esme, Jasper, Rosalie, and Emmett had no idea what was going on, I knew.

"Hang on, what?" Emmett was lost.

Carlisle sighed, and began to explain. "Edward and Alice already know, of course, buy the rest of you don't. Alice and Jasper, you weren't with us when we met them first."

"Met who?" Emmett asked.

"The Quileute clan."

I smiled and leaned back as Carlisle explained Jacob's pack. I knew them all, of course- Embry, Quil, Jared, Paul, and Seth were just some of the closest. They were all like big brothers to me, all protectors. And Sam, the best protector of them all- my eyes began to water slightly as I remembered.

_-Flashback-_

_It was a year after Edward had left. Jake and I were hanging out with Quil, Claire, of course, and Embry at the beach. Jake and Quil wanted to get some food. I declined; staying by the beach was much more peaceful._

"_Your loss, Bells," Jake joked, as Quil swung Claire up onto his shoulders and they went up to get the food they constantly needed. I grinned back, pecked him on the cheek, and then resumed my staring at the ocean's beauty. After a while, I stood and walked down to the water's edge. _

"_Hey Bella," a voice said glumly._

_I jumped, startled a little. "Oh, hi Sam," I said. "You OK?"_

_Lately, Sam hadn't been on top of his game. Although he was alpha, I knew he had been going through some pretty rough times. He had just imprinted. However, it wasn't Leah, his high school sweetheart whom he had still been going steady with. It was her cousin, Emily. He was going through a rough time, I knew. He wanted to stay with Leah, but the imprint made it impossible for him to even go without wanting to see Emily for fifteen minutes._

"_Hey, you'll make it through alright," I said, patting him on the shoulder. "You, Emily, and Leah will make it through."_

"_I guess," he said dejectedly._

_I turned to walk back up the beach, in search of Jake._

"_Bella! Get Jake!" I looked around, and saw Sam, phasing. Behind him were two vampires; it was obvious. Pale skin, they looked like stone statues. Victoria. I hissed at the name. The male behind her was clearly nervous; he had light hair and was not the dominant one in their relationship, if there even was one._

"_Sam!" I screamed in horror, as Victoria and the male both simultaneously started circling him._

_I ran up the beach best as I could, stumbling, and falling because of both my natural clumsiness and the tears in my eyes obscuring my vision._

"_Jake!" I shrieked, "Help!"_

_At the sound of my voice, I saw Jake come tearing out of the house, with Quil right behind him, holding Claire. _

_Sam was losing his fight. Two on one wasn't exactly fair, and I knew what Victoria wanted- me. Sam's attention was sufficiently occupied with the male, she dove toward me. Jake had reached the beach by now, and phased. He wasn't going to be able to reach me soon enough and I saw that he realized it a spilt-second after I did. Sam suddenly came out of nowhere, abandoning his the male, and managed to throw Victoria into the spray of the waves. _

_I ran backward, trying to just get away from the male vampire who was pushing me back toward the forest. Thankfully, Jake was close enough to dive in front of me, while Quil pulled me back with Claire. Together, they made quick work of the male and turned toward Victoria. Sam didn't have the upper hand, that much was clear. But Jake and Quil joined in, and Victoria, as she always did, fled. _

_They phased back. Sam seemed to be hurt, I discovered. Jake and Quil struggled to carry his wolf form back to me. _

_I gasped to see a huge chunk of his left leg missing, as well as multiple scratches covering his entire body. The worse 'scratch' was over his right shoulder._

"_We need a doctor." Jake spoke to me with gritted teeth. "Use the phone in the house."_

_That day was horrible. The doctor told us that, after learning that werewolves existed, that Sam would never be able to phase again and that they would have to amputate the leg._

_And it was my entire fault._

"Bella?" a voice broke into my thoughts. "I've finished explaining and we've made a decision."

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**To the three reviewers I've had recently- thank you. Now only if you could spread the word... :)**

**First (and only) 3 in order:**

**1.)VampsRox 2.)JaspersLover1 3.)VampireKa-Lyrra**

**Thanks so much! I promise the next time I post it'll be for HSR. **

**Love to you all,**

**P.S. I'll be vacationing for a next week, so I might find time to write then!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: Only the plot and OC's are mine. Anything you recognize from the Twilight Saga belongs to Stephenie Meyer. The song I'd Lie belongs to Taylor Swift.**

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**Chapter 5**

**Bella**

My head jerked up, out of my reverie. "Really? What is it?" My voice may have sounded harsh, but if your fiancé was in mortal danger, you wouldn't exactly be in the best mood either.

"OK, so, here's the plan." Carlisle looked around the table. But before he could continue, Esme cut in.

"Bella, please don't try to get us to change this, OK? This is for your own good." Her voice was soft and reassuring. I swallowed hard, knowing that if I let my emotions show that I wouldn't be able to save Jacob.

Carlisle smiled at Esme, a smile full of love and compassion. I knew they shared a bond that was deeper than anything I'd ever experienced. My heart almost broke again, but I resolved to be strong and do what I had to do.

"Thanks, Esme. Bella," he said, addressing me, "You'll be staying here, with Alice and Rosalie."

I opened my mouth to protest. He stopped me with his hand. "Wait, just so you know, Alice can still see you, and her visions are much stronger than before. Together they are more than a match for your attempts to escape."

I slumped back in my seat, defeated.

"Esme, Edward, and I will go to do some research- we can get into private files and whatnot. We must figure out Stephan's next move before he makes it- mainly, what will happen at the ritual at the eclipse and how we can stop it." I looked at Edward. His mouth was set in a thin, tight line, and he was burning a hole into the table. I guessed that he wasn't happy about leaving me alone with Alice and Rosalie.

"Emmett and Jasper will go retrieve Jacob." Carlisle turned to me again suddenly. "But Bella- we will need you in this one hundred percent- if you don't help us here than there is no hope to stopping this cult. Where is Jacob and what can we tell him to convince him to come with Jasper and Emmett back here?"

I bit my lip, considering.

Edward growled.

Carlisle, seeing my hesitancy, nudged Esme.

"Bella," she leaned her face forward until it was directly in my line of vision. "You must tell us how to safely find your fiancé and bring him back here if you want him to be safe. It's not only you and him- if this cult is not stopped there could be a mass murder in the city, in the country if he grows stronger. Think about it. He already has killed more than one hundred and no doubt has made some of those hundreds into vampires. He is creating an army, Bella, just because of you. He will stop at nothing to gain what he wants most, and right now, it's you."

I had planned on not telling them- that way I could have come and seen Jake for myself. But her gentle golden eyes crushed my determination to stay silent, and I muttered, "He's at my apartment. Tell him that he proposed on the La Push cliffs and he'll come."

Had it been humans in the room, they would not have been able to make out my words. However, it was vampires that I had fallen in with, and they could hear me perfectly.

Immediately, Carlisle began directing his family.

"Emmett and Jasper, you heard what she said- go now! Make haste, and trust no one." Their forms rose, a huge, broad one, and a slimmer, yet also muscular one as well.

Emmett leaned down and kissed Rosalie, and Jasper drew Alice into his arms. I looked away, not wanting to interrupt their moment. It was only now that I had begun to realize just how dangerous this could be.

After they had left, Carlisle nodded to Edward and Esme. Instinctively, I stood up and followed Edward out of the room. Esme pulled Carlisle outside, leaving Edward and I alone.

"What do you want?" His voice was gruff, unlike the soft velvety sound I was used to.

"I- never mind." I had almost reached up to kiss him out of habit. Instead, I settled for grasping his hand and saying softly, "It's good to see you again."

He jerked his hand out of mine roughly, startling me into backing away a few steps. "Bella, whatever twisted fantasy you thinking of, forget it. I'm never going to fall in love again, you hear? I opened myself up to you, and look where it got me!" Angrily, he ran his hand through his hair, almost growling at me again.

I shrank back against the wall, and then burst into maniacal laughter. I couldn't help myself; it was as if I had no control over my body.

_He never fall in love he swears, as he runs his fingers through his hair._

_I'm laughing 'cause I hope he's wrong._

He took a few more aggressive steps toward me and my laughter faded abruptly.

"Do you think-"

Thankfully, Alice appeared in the doorway. I knew she must have been communicating with Edward telepathically, because he turned suddenly and stalked out the door.

"Come on, Bella." She smiled at me and I walked back into the dining room. Only to find that Alice had plans for me, which unfortunately involved a lot of make-up and hair styling.

She dragged me upstairs to the bathroom, ignoring my complaints. "Come on, Bella, it'll be fun! I haven't had fresh material to work with in a while."

I rolled my eyes. She made me sound like a freaking Barbie doll.

Rosalie was just standing obtrusively leaning against the door. She looked bored, as usual.

"Alice!" I said suddenly.

"Mhmm?" she said, her mouth full of bobby pins.

"I just remembered I have all my hair stuff downstairs."

She looked at me suspiciously.

"Alice," I explained impatiently, "You should know that you shouldn't really use other people's hair stuff- you can get lice and things like that! Besides, I really like everything that I use."

She still looked like she didn't believe me.

I decided to be blunt. "Why don't you believe me?" I demanded, hands on my hips.

"Well, Bella… you just never seemed interested in this kind of thing, you know?" She said slowly.

"Please, Alice?" I asked pleadingly. "Just let me go get them, and I'll be back up here!"

"Fine," she agreed finally.

I leaped up. "Thanks!" I shouted as I dashed down the stairs.

I was surprised I didn't trip or fall, but I supposed it was because of my stubbornness. My plan had worked! I hadn't even considered escape until I was at the door, so Alice couldn't have possibly seen it in a vision, at least until now.

Glancing back up the stairs, I made sure that Rosalie and Alice weren't spying. I was sure Alice would be having a vision now, so I didn't bother to quietly shut the door.

I ran down the driveway as best as I could, and I was proud that I only fell once. As soon as I got out to the main road, I flagged down a taxi and jumped in. I told him my address, and as he pulled away, I could see Rosalie and Alice standing next to the door. I knew they wouldn't dare show their supernatural powers in front of the human driver. I saw Alice's furious face and Rosalie's disgusted one as we pulled away.

I knew that it was the wrong thing to do, but I knew in my gut that I had to do it for Jacob.

*~*~*

**Jacob Black**

I looked from one of the bloodsuckers face to the others.

Staring in disbelief, I said sarcastically, "You're expecting me to believe that I need to go with you because my fiancé's in grave danger because of a stupid bloodsucking group? How do I know that this isn't some plot to get rid of me?"

The big one said, "You know, I really don't know why Bella puts up with you."

The smaller one restrained him with a look. He sighed, "She said to tell you that you proposed to her on the La Push cliffs."

My brain stopped. We were the only two that knew about that- I had made sure of it. But did Bella really have to go tell some bloodsuckers about it? I would deal with that later. The more important thing was that I knew now that they really had Bella.

I made sure I had my cell. "OK, let's go to Bella."

* * *

**A/N- This story is now on HIATUS until I finish HSR. I hope that wasn't much of a cliff hanger. I'll start up again when I finish HSR, I promise. I'm also looking for a beta for this story, so please feel free to PM me if you're interested. I hope I haven't made anyone too upset, but please go read some of my other stories. Thanks so much for you support!**


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